| Volume 1 - Week 30 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Editor's Note
Brilliant! Week
30, it is unbelievable how RF has grown since the beginning of the Super 12 in
February and now a website as well! rugbyforum.co.za provides all the
previous issues and its quite interesting to read the contentious issues of
seven months ago, in many cases they are unchanged, sorry Butch. The planning
is to release a best of RF for Christmas and of course you will receive a
complimentary Boney M Christmas Carols CD and that’s not all…!
The
weekend saw Scotland’s conclusion of the Six Nations competition with an
excellent victory over Ireland. In case you are confused, the foot and mouth
disease created havoc amongst all sporting events in the beginning of the year
and Ireland suspended all matches hence Six Nation tests in September. The
Irish quite fancied their chances after some excellent results in the
beginning of the year but their defeat hands the crown to England and the
highly anticipated match between the old rivals will only determine the
difference between a Grand Slam or Tripple Crown for the victorious
English team.
In
the Currie Cup competition the first round of Top 8 matches were played and
with strength versus strength there were some tough, entertaining rugby. RF
attended the big WP Lions duel at Newlands and sitting amongst the 22,000
strong crowd one can understand why WP continually prove strong contenders for a
title they have won on more occasions than any other province. The average
supporter is critical and fanatical with an excellent knowledge of the game
and combined with a staunch archetypical press the white and blue hoops are
under as much pressure as their higher calling, the Springboks to produce
victories. This they did in exciting fashion, as always a live game present
the spectator with a completely different view than the edited, replayed and
commentated television version. The closeness of the supporters allow each and
everyone to be involved in a DVD simulated experience, the sound may not be as
great but wow the visuals are so life like! One has the freedom of following
the ball or linger at the mauls to catch glimpses of players “greeting”
each other, no doubt they have not seen each other since Auckland!
The
one player that attracted a lot of my attention was the young Joe van Niekerk
since a friend from the Lions mentioned that this boy can “jol hey” when I
questioned his inclusion in the Springbok squad a few months ago. The
conclusion; well, the boy can jol hey! The young man’s talent is undeniable
and his temperament in the wake of the “rough” treatment from the likes of
Bob Skinstad and “oom” Corne was more than commendable. Fast, strong and
the uncanny ability to be at the right place at the right time signifies the
arrival of a true contender within the Springbok loose-forward rivalry. As it
turned out the nail in the Lions coffin was Pieter “easy intercept”
Rossouw who put the game beyond Jannes Labuschagne’s men with a trademark
intercept and sprint to the line. A nice touch in the final seconds was a try
for Percy Montgomery, much criticized fullback in his 50th
appearance for his province after an early brush-off from exciting youngster
Gcobani Bobo led to a Lion's try. A strange event as he is the holder of 49
Springbok caps, just shows you how little rugby the top Springboks play for
their province.
The
other results of the weekend were a debilitating defeat by the Sharks for the
Blue Bulls in the final seconds. This was the second week in a row that almost
became forlorn and the young team from Pretoria who played magnificent rugby
throughout this year seems to be out of the running for the semi-finals. The
Cheetas proved too strong for their cousins Griquas and with Venter and
Erasmus ruling the roost the Bloemfontein boys could just spring a surprise in
a competition they have won only once in their distinguished history. The
Falcons, consistent this year with Adrian Jacobs playing wonderful rugby in a
young team eager to perform defeated the Pumas and set up a good opportunity
to play in the semi-finals.
This
coming weekend should provide a much clearer picture of who will contend the
semi-finals and with certain teams in must win situations the pressure stakes
are high. The top of the log clash between WP and the Falcons will determine
one semi-finalist and this should be an excellent match between two teams that
thrive on broken play. The Pumas, Sharks, Lions and the Cheetas are all in
with a shout in a congested mid table so from a spectator’s view this
weekend should produce some excellent rugby.
An
interesting news items caught the attention this week, the WP players are
struggling with flu and their recuperation are hampered by the medicine they
are allowed to take. This is a very real reminder of how drugs and drug tests
turn into a scourge in the lives of professional sportsmen. The average sick
person can pop into the local chemist scratch around for some good flu tablets
or cough mixture and without any fear or qualm administer the medicine as per
instructions. Top rugby players can no longer afford to do so unless they
possess B.Pharm degrees or idealize a bit of R&R with no pay or
compensation for two years! Face it drug cheats are not condonable but one can
have some sympathy for their everyday dilemma.
Enjoy
the issue, support your teams live, send an e-mail and visit the RF
website!
The Right Stuff by Mark
Foster
South
Africa, one of the great rugby nations is mid in its yearly premier
competition and in one month’s time the Currie Cup champions will be
crowned. In what has become the norm the Springboks will depart on their end
of year tour to Europe barely a week later. The search for perfect
combinations and players is therefore a never-ending pursuit for the Springbok
brain trust.
Regular readers of this column
will recall a previous article, ”South Africa’s Mediocrity”
(Week 26) which contained some interesting statistics reflecting South
Africa’s dour position in the world pecking order and how expectations
exceed abilities – statistics wise. The question as a result of these
findings is, do we have the personnel to dominate the so-called Big 5
(Australia, England, France, South Africa and New Zealand)? An examination of
the current crop of coaches and players is an interesting exercise to seek
answers for the dearth of test victories.
South Africa posses a number of
excellent, knowledgeable coaches and are not necessarily behind the world
standard. Head coaches like Rudolph Straueli, Rudi Joubert and Gert Smal are
accomplished and more than capable of producing winning teams with excellent
playing patterns. Past coaches like Ian McIntosh and Nick Mallett are widely
respected for their skill and vision of the game. The specialist department is
not in trouble either; there are the likes of Gysie Pienaar, Carel Du Plessis
and Danie Gerber, all world-class players in their day with the ability to
part their tremendous skills and experience to backline players. The forwards
are well served with Balie Swart, Peet Kleynhans and Heyneke Meyer. In short,
conventionally speaking there should be very little problems in producing
strong, well-drilled, competitive teams at all levels.
The current Springbok coach,
Harry Viljoen made it clear that for the national team to win test matches
against the Big 5, attention to “2%” detail is necessary. HV made an
excellent point with this statement, as said above “conventionally
speaking” there seem to be no problem; it is in the “unconventional”
aspects that our players need coaching and a lot of it. Unconventional include
the following: decision-making, counter attack, creation of space, positional
kicking and multi-phase attack and defence. With the benefit of hindsight,
HV’s decision to employ a specialist defensive coach must be applauded and
is one of the reasons the Springboks hardly conceded any tries in the matches
this year despite Butch James’ dement. The other skills were neglected and
if they are part of the growth process it is understandable however here the
player’s ability, vision, temperament and genius determine the outcome and
not necessarily the quantity of coaches on the payroll. At some stage, the
players have to take responsibility and to paraphrase Nike, just do it!
The players; the usual test one
can perform is the inclusion in a world team and unfortunately it is a very
difficult criteria indeed with so many teams performing on a very high
standard. Realistically South Africa should be able to contribute at least 4
players to a world XXII in the form of forwards only, Visagie, Kempson, van
Biljon and Matfield will be starting or on the bench. The re-birth of the
Springbok scrum is a significant occurrence and like in years gone by should
be the strength of our rugby; there are numerous talented players in all
positions especially loose-forward. Few countries can boost the likes of
Venter, Vos, Skinstad, Erasmus, Krige, van Rensburg and easily one of the most
talented players since the emergence of Skinstad, Joe van Niekerk. Matfield is
truly proving his worth and his influence is remarkable on provincial level,
his menacing presence cause hookers to quiver and crumble when throwing the
ball in the lineouts, same to be said of van den Bergh and Andrews when fit is
one of the best players in the world.
The problem and this is no
secret lay in the quality of backline players, for a country that produced
“greats” at consistent intervals the emergence of a dominating back is way
overdue. The focus as always are on the halfbacks and since they are the
crucial linking positions the desperation multiplies. Joost will not last
forever and even though he possesses numerous fine qualities his prime task as
no 9 is to provide fast accurate ball to a flyhalf, his weakest
characteristic. The contenders are very few Niel De Kock and Craig Davidson
but they need exposure on national level. The problem is surmountable, as
neither of the two in question will disgrace a test side.
The sole reason why the
Springbok’s are not effective in dominating opposition is no 10, an age-old
debate in the annals of Springbok rugby but the current issue is quite
different from the past. Historically the topic of flyhalf always coincided
with differing playing patterns, the running flyhalf or the kicking flyhalf,
the respective type of pivot was always available for selection. The current
dilemma is the lack of any player capable of doing one or the other or both.
Contenders there are a plenty and with the incumbent incapacitated the best
player available who is a certain selection based on kicking form is Braam van
Straaten, easily the most under-appreciated Springbok player in the modern
era. Braam’s so-called shortcomings are well documented however as a
match-winner he is beyond compare.
The logic way of thinking would
be to provide him as prime point scorer with all the necessary assistance in
playing his kind of game i.e. a scrumhalf with a quick service to create more
time for his “slow hands”. It boils down to who is more dispensable Joost
or Braam? Thought so, sorry Joost! Next, provide Braam with a centre capable
of creating space and with excellent distribution. Here lies the true
challenge and not in finding a new flyhalf that is expected to do everything.
Let the current crop of Jaco van der Westhuizen and Chris Rossouw play in the
SA A team and a round of Super 12 next year and the added experience will
mature them for the job at hand.
The outside centre and wing
position is quite similar to the loose-forward dilemma, with many quality
players vying for a place. Jantjes can secure the fullback position for an
extended period of time and become a world-class player depending on form and
injuries, his talent is irrefutable.
In conclusion, South Africa has
most of the personnel required for the job and since that leaves us with the
crucial 2%, every effort, focus and resource should be on this area to restore
the leaping Springbok to the forefront of world rugby. It may suggest a change
of impetus amongst our leading thinkers and administrators of the game to look
for the added value in both players and coaches, and then nurture this ability
for the national cause.
Quotes
Adversity
causes some men to break; others to break records. William
A. Ward
To be honest, the rugby's been that awful I
haven't really been excited enough to get into it. Josh
Kronfeld on the Super 12
The mind is the limit. As long as the mind
can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long
as you really believe 100 percent. Arnold
Schwarzenegger
Hell, it's been hard. I never thought it
would be this bad. You have to be in it to experience it. I get criticised all
the time. It's more difficult than I ever imagined. Harry
Viljoen
Top
8 Currie Cup Log
Letters
to the Editor
Beste Ed.
Baie mense kritiseer WP, WP spelers en WP Bokspelers. Die vraag ontstaan hoekom? Ek raak nou moeg daarvan, maar gaan liewers nie daarop ingaan nie. Ek het glad nie die Bokspan van '95 gekritiseer nie - miskien die weglating van Tiaan Strauss...?! Dit daar gelaat... Ja ek kom van die Kaap, maar eintlik is ek n ondersteuner van individue. Andre Snyman is my held, nes James Small van nie so lank gelede.
Almal weet (nie almal wil dit erken), dat Braam die beste is wat ons het, tot
tyd en wyl n jongeling genoeg geleer het (by Braam) om as losskakel oor te
neem. Fleckie is vernietegend, en met Andre Snyman aan sy buitekant -
"PRICELESS". Mense, dis ontsettend belangrik dat ons as rugby nasie
die Bokke professioneel moet ondersteun!!. Die dag wanneer dit gebeur sal daar
baie minder druk op die individu wees,omdat sy kop nie meer deur ander unies
se ondersteuners geeis sal word nie. Magtig mense, haal daai provinsiale brul
af , trap hom stukkend en gooi hom weg!! Nes ons almal vir die Bokspan van '95
toegejuig het as n span, met Joel Stransky wat n spesiale vermelding verdien,
moet ons die Bokke ondersteun deur duk en din.
Ek dink Harry Viljoen gaan dit nog ver bring. Hy het n moeilike vuurdoop
gehad, maar ook reeds baie reggekry. Onthou julle Carel du Plessies se
bouproses...
Ek groet julle met n Castle in my hand
Bokondersteuner Wentzel
Hey Guys
Great issue this week. The opening article was indeed clever and well articulated. I am glad you now have a website and will be a regular visitor to your site. I think it's great that Rugby Forum is showing growth and development (sorry the same can't be said for some of your readers). The top 8 sure looks like it will be an exciting stage of the Currie Cup to watch and as my friends at Varsity always say, "the competition is hotting up" Just one thing to all Rugby Forum readers, Naas Botha also publicly slandered the ref viz "Tappe Henning" at the end of that match. Tappe also confirmed that he is a bad ref in the game last week when Butch needed a yellow card but did not receive one. I never once said that South African Referees suck in fact look back at one of my letters and they state that Jonathon Kaplan is the best ref in the world, at least in my opinion that is. Maybe Tappe should go back school. Yes I am smart to Frans and for this reason I will not resort to calling the wonderful (spot the satire) South African commentators any names. Rugby Forum can you by any chance in your next issue publish a report on the last 25 Currie cup finals and the scores. You won't have to do match reports just the teams playing and the scores. I also just wish to make a comment about Davidson. I think he is a wonderful scrumhalf and delivers very good ball to his flyhalf. I do hope that he will not be ignored for selection at the end of year tour. Regards Bryan Torien
RF will compile some statistics of
previous Currie Cup Finals nearer to this year's final - Ed.
Dear Ed
I, like a number of your correspondents, have been expecting a disciplinary
decision against Butch James sometime this season but the findings yesterday
raise two questions:
1. How consistent is the sentence with that meted out to Japie Mulder for his
heinous attack on De Wet Barry?
2. What penalty has been imposed on Tappe Henning?
Tappe Henning was after all advised by his Linesman on each occurrence of the
acts for which Butch has been sentenced and ignored his Linesman's calls.
Surely, as one of the four SARFU salaried Refs, he too must face an earnings
loss as he is expected to apply the rules of the game, written in part to
protect the players?
W.S. Ferguson
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